The Search for TK
by Avalon Merquise
Summary: This starts out where TK was kidnapped but Puppetmon, but in this, he hasn't come back. CHAPTER THREE (finally) UP!!! Matt & Sora go off looking for TK, but can they even stand each other's presence long enough to get anywhere?
1. CHAPTER ONE

"The Search For TK"  
By: Avalon Merquise  
DramaQueen572@hotmail.com  
  
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"Look what your Digimon did! Without Kiwimon we'll never find TK!" Matt yelled in Sora's face.   
  
Bad move. Sora and Biyomon got mad at Matt, now joining Tai. As soon as Matt said that he regretted it. Sora, Biyomon, and Tai all started yelling at Matt.   
  
"Sora was in danger! It's my job to protect her!"   
  
"Kiwimon wasn't just gonna lead us right to TK happily Matt!"   
  
"Kiwimon wouldn't have been any help anyway!"   
  
"Think about things Matt, before you go snapping everyone's head off!"   
  
"STOP IT!" Mimi screamed suddenly. "Everyone stop fighting!"   
  
"I wish people would stop yelling. I'm getting a headache," Joe told Gomamon, who nodded.   
  
Matt whirled around and stormed off. "If we're gonna find TK we'd better get a move on!"   
  
The others groaned and followed.  
  
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LATER THAT NIGHT  
  
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"Matt! It's late! It's already getting dark! We need to stop for the night!" Tai said.   
  
"They might be doing something horrible to TK right now!"   
  
"Do you even know where you're going? We could be going the wrong way. And in the dark we could get even more lost!"   
  
"Yeah, our Digimon are losing energy. What if we get attacked? They won't be able to Digivolve!" Sora put in.   
  
"She does have a point, Matt. I think we should rest for the night and resume our search in the morning," Izzy agreed.   
  
Matt ignored them. "We're losing time standing around here arguing!"   
  
Gabumon stopped and looked apologetically at the others. Then he followed Matt.   
  
"Fine you go Matt! But I'm staying!" Tai sat down on the ground and crossed his arms. Sora nodded and planted herself next to him.   
  
Matt figured that since no one was saying anything that they were following him. But after a few steps he didn't hear them behind him so he turned around. He saw Tai and Sora sitting and the other 3 standing there looking confused. Finally Matt gave in. Tai and Sora were stubborn apart, but together they were impossible.   
  
"Fine. But we're getting up *early* tomorrow!"   
  
Tai and Sora grinned in satisfaction and slapped high fives.   
  
After a relatively silent dinner Tai asked, "Whose turn is it for watch?"   
  
"Mine first," said Matt.   
  
"Then it's me, then Mimi, then Tai," Joe said.   
  
"How come I never get to keep watch?" Kari asked. "I'm not too young."   
  
"That's true Kari. I just never thought you'd want to. Do you?" Tai asked.   
  
Kari nodded.   
  
"Well you can help me with my watch tonight. You can see if you think you can handle it and if you can then you and Gatomon can keep watch all by yourselves from now on."   
  
Kari smiled and hugged her brother. "Thanks, Tai!"   
  
Matt looked at that in disbelief. Tai always gave Kari more freedom than he gave TK. When they first came to the DigiWorld he had automatically said TK couldn't keep watch and didn't even ask him. Maybe I should give TK more freedom, he thought.   
  
About an hour and a half through Matt's watch, he heard something. He and Gabumon turned around quickly, but they saw it was only Tai and Sora talking softly. He sighed in relief until he heard his name. He strained his ears to hear what they were saying about him.   
  
"I've never seen Matt like this," Sora said.   
  
"I know. I mean, he's always been protective of TK, but now it's like the rest of us don't even exist and we're just in Matt's way."   
  
"And this has gone on longer than TK's been gone. Yelling at you on the beach, exploding at me cos Biyomon Digivolved, ever since we came back to the DigiWorld he's been different. His crest wouldn't even glow and his Digivice didn't work. I wonder what's worng with him."   
  
Matt turned back around. He didn't want to hear anymore. They were right. Why wouldn't his crest glow?   
  
He buried his face in his arms as the tears welled up in his eyes. Gabumon came over.   
  
"What's wrong Matt?"   
  
"Gabumon, everything's going wrong. All my friends hate me. Something's happening to TK and I can't do anything about it. And you can't Digivolve because of me. My Crest of *Friendship* won't glow."   
  
"Matt, your friends don't hate you. Tai and Sora are mad at the moment, but they'll get over it."   
  
"Why do I keep saying all these things? Why am I so mad at everyone when they did nothing to me?"   
  
"Maybe you're just stressed out. The Dark Masters are worse than anyone we've ever fought. And you're worried about TK. Matt, these things pile up and sooner or later you'll explode. You need to stop keeping things bottled up inside. You're making yourself think you don't have any friends and that's why your crest won't glow."   
  
Just then a half-asleep Joe walked over. "Come to relieve you Matt. Two hours is up."   
  
Matt wiped his eyes and tried to look normal. "Thanks Joe, good night."  
  
But Matt tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. He kept imagining Puppetmon doing horrible things to TK, and worrying about Gabumon and his crest. Gabumon had said that his crest wouldn't glow because he made himself think he had no friends.  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
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Review! Tell me if I should continue this! Tell me if you want this to be a Taiora or a Sorato! 


	2. CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO  
  
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Matt woke up with the sun shining through his eyelids. He sat up groggily rubbing his eyes. He looked around, yawning. Then he sat up with a start when he remembered TK. He panicked and checked his Digivice. It was 9:35 AM.  
  
Matt angrily stood up to see all the other DigiDestined and their Digimon fast asleep. Mimi and Palmon were curled up next to the dying campfire. Mimi had fallen asleep on her watch.  
  
Matt snapped. "Mimi! Wake up!" he screamed, turning red in the face.  
  
Mimi sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, is it morning already?" she asked. "I was having the nicest dream."  
  
"You fell asleep on your watch! You're not supposed to fall asleep! We just lost valuable time searching for TK!"  
  
Mimi barely heard him and was too tired to respond. Instead, she stood up and rubbed her shoulder. "I always forget how much I miss my bed until the morning, right after I wake up," she complained.  
  
Matt was getting irritated. "Mimi, you're not even listening to me!"  
  
"Hey, chill out, Man. We all make mistakes. We're only human."  
  
Matt turned around to see Tai standing up from where he'd been sleeping, with Sora sitting on the ground at his feet where she'd been sleeping. The other DigiDestined and their Digimon were beginning to wake up as well.  
  
"You don't understand, do you! Puppetmon has my brother! We could've already found him if she wasn't so irresponsible!"  
  
"Oh come on, Matt! So, we lost a few hours! We not have even found TK in that time and we'd be just as lost as before!" Tai yelled back. "You know what, Matt? I'm tired of you blaming *us* for what happened to TK, and exploding at us every time we *breathe* wrong! You need to calm down!"  
  
Matt seethed. "Oh yeah?! Think about it, Tai! What if Puppetmon had taken Kari?"  
  
Kari's eyes got wide.  
  
"Wouldn't you want to spend as much time as possible looking for her?" Matt asked.  
  
Before Tai could respond, Sora jumped up. "Come on, guys! Do we really need to be fighting first thing in the morning? We all just woke up. And us standing around here arguing over nothing isn't getting us any closer to TK."  
  
"Sora's right," Izzy said, coming over. "We need to focus on more important issues, like the location of Puppetmon's base. I think splitting up into 3 small groups so we can cover more ground. Joe, you go with Mimi in that direction." he said pointing behind Joe. "Tai, Kari, and I will go this way," he gestured behind him, "and Sora, you go with Matt that way." he said, pointing behind Matt.  
  
Sora almost groaned out loud. She didn't want to be stuck alone with Matt while he was in this kind of mood. She caught Tai's eye and gave him a pleading look. He shrugged and gave her a sympathetic grin.  
  
"We'll meet back here at 6:00 whether or not we've found TK," Tai said.  
  
Matt didn't want to think about not finding TK.  
  
"Look out for where you're going and be careful, people," Tai finished.  
  
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Matt was practically running and was way ahead of Sora, Gabumon, and Biyomon, who were lagging behind, eating a breakfast of the red berries that covered the bushes.  
  
"Hey Matt, want some berries? They're delicious!" Gabumon offered.  
  
"No, and you're wasting time standing around stuffing your faces!"  
  
Sora rolled her eyes. "Think about it, Matt. If the Digimon eat, they can Digivolve. If Gabumon Digivolves, we can ride Garurumon, and go faster. Then when Garurumon is tired, Birdramon can Digivovle."  
  
Matt hadn't thought of that. He didn't say anything, only turned around. "Just hurry up, then."  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
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Let me know if I should continue this! Also, I'm still debating whether it should be Taiora or Sorato. Let me know... 


	3. CHAPTER THREE

***A/N***  
  
I just realized that I started working on this the first time this episode came on... how's that for laziness? LOL. Gomen, gomen nasai minna. I really will try to work on this more. Inspiration just whacked me upside the head with a 2x4, and now I know exactly how this story's gonna pan out, so hopefully I can finish it soon. In the meantime, keep reading, keep reviewing, and enjoy! Arigato!  
  
***  
  
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CHAPTER THREE  
  
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Sora sighed. She was sitting on Birdramon's foot, with one of her arms wrapped around her leg. Matt and Gabumon were perched on Birdramon's other foot. They'd been flying just over the tops of the trees for a couple of hours. Birdramon had excellent eyesight, and was scanning the ground for TK or Patamon.  
  
With her free hand, Sora grabbed her digivice from the waistband of her pants. She stared at the small screen in the center. It showed a small dot in the center, them, and a whole lot of nothing in every direction. Sora didn't know how far of a radius the digivice showed, but she guessed it was probably a good deal. They were probably pretty far from where they had started too, considering that they had been traveling for a good 4 hours at a decent speed. But they also weren't going in a straight line. Matt kept directing Birdramon to fly this way or that, and it was all Sora could do to try and keep track.  
  
Birdramon began to slow down. She flew down to the ground and Matt and Sora jumped off before she de-digivolved back into Biyomon. Biyomon collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Sora sat down next to her. Matt sighed in annoyance before giving in and sitting down as well. Gabumon followed suit.  
  
Sora hesititated, glancing at Matt. The two of them had been relatively quiet throughout the entire search. But at least they had stopped fighting. Sora felt terrible. She and Matt had always been pretty good friends. But since about the time they'd come back to the DigiWorld, he'd been really strange. Sora wondered if it really was just because of TK, or if there was something else bothering him. Maybe something had happened to him back in their world.  
  
Maybe he'd talk to her if she asked. But maybe he'd just blow her off, or tell her to mind her own business.  
  
But then again, they were a team. They were supposed to be there for each other. That's what a team was. She might as well give it a try. It might help him out immensely.  
  
"Hey Matt?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
He whipped his head up at her. His cold blue eyes bored into her forehead and she almost stumbled over her words.  
  
"Hey, um, is there anything you... wanna talk about?"  
  
"I *want* to go find my brother!" he snapped, as if she was an idiot. "We don't have the time to waste standing around here talking!" He stood up angrily.  
  
Sora stood up along with him. "How do you know if we have time?! We've been looking for TK for hours! How do you know if we're getting closer or further away?!"  
  
"STOP BEING SO INCONSIDERATE, SORA!!!" Matt turned around and screamed at her. He took a deep breath and said in a low, sinister voice. "What would you do if someone you loved, and someone you were responsible for was out there, all on his own, scared and helpless? How would you feel?"  
  
"He's not all on his own, Matt," she said softly. "He's got Patamon with him. He'll be alright."  
  
"We *need* to find him, Sora," Matt said sharply. He turned and started walking again, reaching around for his digivice. "Gabumon!" he shouted, but trailed off as nothing happened. He reached for his tag. His Crest once again sat there dull and inapt. He grimaced.  
  
Sora watched him despondently. It was hurting her to watch her friend go through this and not be able to help him.  
  
"We're just going to have to walk then," she said placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling sympathetically.  
  
He shot her a stingy look, and pulled away. Sora sighed. She turned around and waited for Biyomon to tottle up next to her, and followed Matt.  
  
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Matt felt like crying. He wouldn't in front of Sora, but this all hurt him so badly. They were losing tons of time they could be looking for his brother, all because of him. What was wrong with him? And how long was this gonna last? Would Gabumon *ever* be able to digivolve again?  
  
He hated yelling at the others, too. He hated watching the flash of pain across Sora's face as he screamed at her. Why was he doing this? He didn't seem to be able to control it or stop it.  
  
God, he just wanted everything to be better. He wanted TK to be back with him. He grieved at the thought of what Puppetmon might be doing to him. And what if Patamon wasn't with him? More than likely he actually wasn't.  
  
He hated the damn Dark Masters. He loathed them with a passion. He vowed then and there that if they did *ANYTHING* to harm any of the other digi-destined, especially TK, he would take down the Dark Masters, even if he couldn't do it with Gabumon.  
  
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***A/N***  
  
You like? I tried to make it longer, and I tried to end with a cliffhanger, but there wasn't much of a way too. And hey, I promise this is going to get more interesting!  
  
BTW, I decided whether it will be a Taiora or a Sorato. Keep reading...  
  
*** 


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